Brett Ludwiczak
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Ohio State baseball battles Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
After beating Nebraska 15-2 on Tuesday, next up for the Buckeyes are the Indiana Hoosiers.
After Tuesday night’s 15-2 win over Nebraska in seven innings in Omaha, Ohio State will now face Indiana this afternoon in the Big Ten Tournament. The winner of Wednesday’s game will play the winner of the Purdue/Nebraska game on Saturday morning, while the loser will play the loser of that game tomorrow in the elimination bracket.
Today’s game will be the first meeting of the season between the Buckeyes and the Hoosiers.
This marks the 31st appearance in the Big Ten Tournament for Ohio State, with the Buckeyes winning the tournament 10 times, which ties Michigan and Minnesota for most in conference history. The last time Ohio State won the Big Ten Tournament was back in 2019, which was also the last time they made the conference tournament prior to this season.
When the Buckeyes won the 2019 tournament, they were also the No. 7 seed, which made them the lowest-seeded team to win the Big Ten Tournament.
Despite taking on a Nebraska team that was the No. 2 seed in this year’s Big Ten Tournament on Tuesday night, Ohio State had little trouble with the Cornhuskers. Joseph Mershon opened up the scoring for the Buckeyes in the second inning with a solo home run. Ohio State would continue to put runs on the board after Mershon’s blast, building an 11-0 lead by the middle of the fourth inning.
Mershon finished with a team-high four RBIs and Trey Lipsey notched three hits. Every Ohio State starter recorded at least one hit on Tuesday night.
Along with a potent offensive attack, the Buckeyes were able to get a strong start from pitcher Landon Beidelschies. The sophomore allowed just one run and two hits over five innings, striking out eight batters on the way to his sixth victory of the season.
Beidelschies has been a workhorse for Ohio State this year, starting 15 games and tossing 84.2 innings. The 91 strikeouts by Beidelschies is the most among Buckeye pitchers this season.
Indiana enters Wednesday’s game against Ohio State as the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers are coming off an 8-6 win over Purdue on Tuesday.
The Boilermakers led 1-0 in the fourth inning before Indiana responded with three runs in the fifth, followed by five runs in the sixth inning. At the center of the offensive explosion for the Hoosiers during those two innings was Jasen Oliver, who hit a three-run home run in the fifth, and an RBI double in the sixth inning.
Oliver became the first Indiana freshman since Logan Sowers in 2015 with four RBIs in a Big Ten Tournament game.
Unlike Ohio State, who got a strong start from Landon Beidelschies on Tuesday, Indiana had to use a number of pitchers to secure the win over Purdue. Ty Bothwell started for the Hoosiers, but was only able to pitch three innings as he was still recovering from an illness he has been dealing with over the past week.
Drew Buhr took the ball next for Indiana, pitching four innings before three other Hoosiers finished out the final two innings. Buhr was credited with the win, pushing his record to 2-2 on the season.
The pitching matchup should be a fun one, as Ohio State will start Gavin DeVooght, and Indiana will counter with Connor Foley. DeVooght was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team after posting a 2-3 record with a 4.22 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 42.2 innings this year. DeVooght’s last start came on May 12 against Northwestern, where he tied a season-high with six strikeouts over five innings
Starting for Indiana will be sophomore Connor Foley, who gotten better as the season has gone on. Over his last two starts, Foley allowed just three combined hits and no runs over nine innings. Foley has done a great job at making opposing hitters miss this year, striking out 75 batters over 56.2 innings. In two starts this year, Foley has struck out 10 batters in a game.
Along with trying to solve Foley today, there are a number of Indiana hitters that will pose a serious threat to DeVooght and the Buckeyes. Outfielder Devin Taylor is Indiana’s biggest power threat, entering the game with a .359 average, 17 home runs, and 47 RBIs.
Other Hoosiers who have amassed at least 100 total bases this year are Tyler Cerny and Carter Mathison. Cerny is hitting .315 with 22 doubles, 10 home runs, and 57 runs batted in, while Mathison has 13 home runs and 40 RBIs.
Ohio State will counter with some notable power threats. Henry Kaczmar was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection this season, posting a .321 average with 69 hits and 34 RBIs. Tyler Pettorini is hitting .318 with nine homers and 49 runs batted in, while Mitchell Okuley is batting .317 with 16 doubles and 43 RBIs.
Mershon and Nick Giamarusti have caused havoc on the bases for opponents this season, with the speedy duo tying for the team lead with 15 stolen bases so far this year.
Wednesday’s game will start at 3:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
After beating Nebraska 15-2 on Tuesday, next up for the Buckeyes are the Indiana Hoosiers.
After Tuesday night’s 15-2 win over Nebraska in seven innings in Omaha, Ohio State will now face Indiana this afternoon in the Big Ten Tournament. The winner of Wednesday’s game will play the winner of the Purdue/Nebraska game on Saturday morning, while the loser will play the loser of that game tomorrow in the elimination bracket.
Today’s game will be the first meeting of the season between the Buckeyes and the Hoosiers.
This marks the 31st appearance in the Big Ten Tournament for Ohio State, with the Buckeyes winning the tournament 10 times, which ties Michigan and Minnesota for most in conference history. The last time Ohio State won the Big Ten Tournament was back in 2019, which was also the last time they made the conference tournament prior to this season.
When the Buckeyes won the 2019 tournament, they were also the No. 7 seed, which made them the lowest-seeded team to win the Big Ten Tournament.
Despite taking on a Nebraska team that was the No. 2 seed in this year’s Big Ten Tournament on Tuesday night, Ohio State had little trouble with the Cornhuskers. Joseph Mershon opened up the scoring for the Buckeyes in the second inning with a solo home run. Ohio State would continue to put runs on the board after Mershon’s blast, building an 11-0 lead by the middle of the fourth inning.
Mershon finished with a team-high four RBIs and Trey Lipsey notched three hits. Every Ohio State starter recorded at least one hit on Tuesday night.
Along with a potent offensive attack, the Buckeyes were able to get a strong start from pitcher Landon Beidelschies. The sophomore allowed just one run and two hits over five innings, striking out eight batters on the way to his sixth victory of the season.
Beidelschies has been a workhorse for Ohio State this year, starting 15 games and tossing 84.2 innings. The 91 strikeouts by Beidelschies is the most among Buckeye pitchers this season.
Indiana at a glance
Indiana enters Wednesday’s game against Ohio State as the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers are coming off an 8-6 win over Purdue on Tuesday.
The Boilermakers led 1-0 in the fourth inning before Indiana responded with three runs in the fifth, followed by five runs in the sixth inning. At the center of the offensive explosion for the Hoosiers during those two innings was Jasen Oliver, who hit a three-run home run in the fifth, and an RBI double in the sixth inning.
Oliver became the first Indiana freshman since Logan Sowers in 2015 with four RBIs in a Big Ten Tournament game.
Unlike Ohio State, who got a strong start from Landon Beidelschies on Tuesday, Indiana had to use a number of pitchers to secure the win over Purdue. Ty Bothwell started for the Hoosiers, but was only able to pitch three innings as he was still recovering from an illness he has been dealing with over the past week.
Drew Buhr took the ball next for Indiana, pitching four innings before three other Hoosiers finished out the final two innings. Buhr was credited with the win, pushing his record to 2-2 on the season.
Taking the mound today
The pitching matchup should be a fun one, as Ohio State will start Gavin DeVooght, and Indiana will counter with Connor Foley. DeVooght was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team after posting a 2-3 record with a 4.22 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 42.2 innings this year. DeVooght’s last start came on May 12 against Northwestern, where he tied a season-high with six strikeouts over five innings
Starting for Indiana will be sophomore Connor Foley, who gotten better as the season has gone on. Over his last two starts, Foley allowed just three combined hits and no runs over nine innings. Foley has done a great job at making opposing hitters miss this year, striking out 75 batters over 56.2 innings. In two starts this year, Foley has struck out 10 batters in a game.
Batters to watch in today’s game
Along with trying to solve Foley today, there are a number of Indiana hitters that will pose a serious threat to DeVooght and the Buckeyes. Outfielder Devin Taylor is Indiana’s biggest power threat, entering the game with a .359 average, 17 home runs, and 47 RBIs.
Other Hoosiers who have amassed at least 100 total bases this year are Tyler Cerny and Carter Mathison. Cerny is hitting .315 with 22 doubles, 10 home runs, and 57 runs batted in, while Mathison has 13 home runs and 40 RBIs.
Ohio State will counter with some notable power threats. Henry Kaczmar was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection this season, posting a .321 average with 69 hits and 34 RBIs. Tyler Pettorini is hitting .318 with nine homers and 49 runs batted in, while Mitchell Okuley is batting .317 with 16 doubles and 43 RBIs.
Mershon and Nick Giamarusti have caused havoc on the bases for opponents this season, with the speedy duo tying for the team lead with 15 stolen bases so far this year.
Wednesday’s game will start at 3:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.
Continue reading...